Container



Dec. 3, E935. H, SEBELL 2,023,151

. CONTAINER Filed Nov. l5, 1955 Fig Fico.

InvenTor.

-Hurry Sebeli Patented Dec. 3, 1935 PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER Harry Sebell, Boston, Mass., assignor of one-half to Arthur H. Parker, Lexington, Mass.

Application November 15, 1933, Serial No. 698,131

10 Claims.

This invention relates to hermetically sealed containers which may be used for packaging food products, paint, etc., and especially to a container which is opened for discharging the contents by tearing a tear strip loose from the wall of the can.

Hermetically sealed containers with tear strips are usually constructed so that the tear strip portion is united to the wall of the container by an easily tearable connection which before it is torn loose from the container forms an hermetic seal between the tear strip and the wall of the container. One convenient way of providing such a tear strip is to form in4 the wall of the container a line of weakness which is shaped to dene the tear strip.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide improvements in hermetically sealed containers according to which the tear strip portion of the wall of the container has a closure element permanently secured thereto, and which is so constructed that after the container has been opened by tearing the tear strip loose from the wall of the container, said closure functions as a means in addition to the tear strip for closing the pouring opening. l

A further object of the invention is to provide improvements in containers in which said closure for the pouring opening will have a friction fit with the container so as to tightly close the openmg y A further object of the invention is to provide a container of the above type in which lthe tear strip, when it has been torn loose from the contalner to open the pouring opening, operates as a hinge for the closure element.

A further object of the invention is to provide improvements wherein the closure member also serves as a means for protecting the line of weak- 40 ness before the container is opened and while it is being shipped so as to obviate the possibility of the container being accidentally punctured at said line of weakness. Other objects of the invention are to provide further improvements relating to the opening of containers which will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In illustrating thein'vention I have shown it as applied to a container in the form of a sheet metal can, but I desire to state that the invention is not limited in its application to containers of the sheet metal can type but is applicable to other Vtypes of containers. Hence, when the term can is used in the following description and in the claims it is intended to be used in a generic sense as including any suitable container.

In the drawing wherein I have illustrated a se- .lected embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a tcp view of a container in the form of a sheet 5 metal can embodying my invention showing the closure plug removed, said view illustrating the can before the closure plug is applied to the tear strip portion of the can wall;

Fig. 2 is a. top plan view of the closure plug; lo

Fig. 3 is an edge view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a section through a can on the line 4 4, Fig. 1 but showing the closure plug in position attached to the tear strip and also illustrating how the tear strip may be torn loose from the 15 wall of the can when it is desiredto open the pour opening Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the tear strip torn partially loose from the can and the pouring opening open; 20

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 6-6, Fig. 1;

Fig. 'I is a section on the line 6 6, Fig. 1 but showing the closure plug in place.

In the drawing I indicates a can made of sheet 25 metal and having the side walls 2 and the end 3. This end may be secured to the side walls oi' the can' in any appropriate or usual way and merely as illustrating one familiar way of making a can I have shown the top or end 3 as having the pe- 30 ripheral ange 4 that encircles the end of the can body and is crimped and soldered thereto thereby forming an hermetic seal.

In making my improved can one of the walls thereof, and preferably an end wall, such as the 35 end wall 3, will be provided with a tear strip portion which is united to the wall by a readily tearable connection so that when pulling strain is applied to the tear strip it will be torn from the wall along the line of said readily tearable con- 40 nection. 'Ihe tear strip when thus torn partially loose from the wall will provide a pouring opening. AThis readily tearable connection between the tear strip and the wall can conveniently be provided for by forming the wall oi' the can with 45 a line of weakness. and one way of providing the line of weakness is .by forming a suitable score line in the can end. As illustrated in Fig. 1 the can end is formed with the line of weakness indicated at 5 which is shown as having a substan- 60 tially U shape, although the particular shape of this line of weakness may be varied without departing from the invention.

As stated above this line of weakness can be formed by scoring the can or partially cutting 65 through the wall of the can along the line of weakness as shown in Fig. 6. 'I'he portion partially enclosed by the line of weakness constitutes a tear strip which may be torn fromthe wall of the can along the line of. weakness thereby to provide a pouring opening 1.

'I'he shape of the pouring opening will, of course, depend upon the shape of the line of Weakness 5.

This line of Weakness is formed so as to only par tially enclose the tear strip 6 so that when said tear strip has been torn from the wall of the can along the full length of the line of weakness said tear strip will still be connected integrally with the wall of the can. With the construction shown in Fig. 1 the tear strip when torn loose from the can is in the form of a tongue which is still integrally connected with the can at the point 8 and with this construction the tear strip may be used as a partial closure for the pouring opening 1.

One feature of my present invention relates to a novel construction wherein the tear strip 6 has a closure member permanently secured thereto which is constructed so that when the can has been opened the return of the tear strip to its original position will cause the closure member to have a friction t with a. portion of the can thus tightly closing the pouring opening.

This closure member is indicated at II and it is permanently secured to the end of the tear strip portion 6 in some suitable way as by spot welding it thereto as indicated at I'I.

In order that the closure member I I may function as a friction plug for closing or sealing the pouring. opening I have provided the following I4, the line of weakness 5 being formed in the bottom I0 of the recess. 'I'he closure plug I I is of.

`a size and shape tc fit tightly within the recess 9. This plug closure II is preferably made of sheet metal which is deformed to present a bottom portion I2 and side walls I3 rising from the bottom at one end and on two adjacent sides, said yside walls being adapted to frictionally t the walls I4 of the recess 9.

The recess 9 is shown as being countersunk near its 4open end as indicated at I5 and the closure plug II is formed at its periphery with a bead I6 adapted to fit within this recess. The counter,- sink I5 is shown in Figs. 4 and 7. As stated above the bottom I 2 of this closure plug 'is permanently i secured to the tear strip 6, preferably adjacent the end thereof.

In .manufacturing the can, the can end 3 will be made with the countersunk recess 9 as shown and the bottom of the recess will be provided .with the score line 5. 'I'he closure plug II may then be,

'I'he closure plug I I also constitutes ythe means by which the tear strip 6 may be torn loose from the end of the can in order to open the pouringv opening I and in order to facilitate this tearing operation I propose to deform a portion I8 of the .bead I6 so as to raise it slightly from the top surface of the can. This will-furnish a space into which an implement, such as a. screw driver I9 or the like, may be inserted for lifting the closur plug from the can.

1f the recess 9 and the line of weakness 5 are formed in the can end I will preferably place the recess and line of. weakness adjacent the side wall of the can as shown in the drawing and in this case the deformed or raised portion I8 of the bead I6 can conveniently be at the end of the closure 5 plug adjacent the side wall of the can. With this construction the implement I9 may be inserted beneath the raised portion I8 of the bead I6 and by using the edge of the can as a fulcrum and pressing downwardly on the implement I9 the 10 tearing of the tear strip along the line of weakness can be easily started from the curved end of the tear strip. After the tearing has been initiated then the lfurther pulling strain to complete the tearing-operation may be applied by pulling 15 upwardly on one end of the closure plug.

I have herein shown the portion of the bottom of. the closure plug opposite the raised portion I8 of the bead as being inclined upwardly. This is indicated at 20 and the purpose of this is to pre- 20 vent the closure plug from binding in the recess 9 when it is being pried upwardly at its outer edge when the tear strip is being torn loose.

After the tear strip 6 has been torn loose from the can end as shown in Fig. 5 the contents of the 2liV can may be discharged through said pouring opening 4 After the can has been partially or completely emptied the pouring opening 'I may be again closed by returning the tear strip 6 and the clo- 80E sure plug I I to their initial positions or to the positions they occupy before the tear strip was torn loose from the can end. When the tear strip and closure plug II are thus returned to their initial positions the tear strip closes the opening 1. and $5' the frictional engagement of the plug I I within the recess 9 produces a. tight seal for the opening and also serves to hold the tear strip in its closed position. Furthermore, if the can is to be opened i again for discharging more' of its contents this 40'I can be easily accomplished by prying the closurev plug I I free from the recess 9 again.

The tongue or tear strip 6 forms a. sort of hinge connection for the closure'plug in its movementfrom open to closed'position and vice-versa and 45::

when the plug is in its closed position its tight fit in the recess'9 and countersink I5 producesa tight joint at the opening. The closure plug' II has the further advantage that it functions as a protection for the line of weakness before v:

the can has been. opened the first time. Since the bottom of the plug II is larger than the tear strip said plug will overlie the line of weakness and thus protect it during shipment or handling of the can. This avoids the possibility that the 552 can will become accidentally punctured at any point along the line of weakness between the time'that it has been sealed and thetime when( it is to be opened.

It will be observed that with this invention I have provided a hermetically sealed can which is .opened by tearing a tear strip lloose from the can, and which is provided with a plugclosure hinged to the can and operating to close the pouring opening with a friction fit.

When the canis opened the tearstrip will be given a gradual rather than a sharp bend at the point where it is integrally connected with the can wall and as a result there is no danger that the opening and closing'repeatedly of the 10'` pouring opening will cause the tear strip to break off.

I claim:

1. A container having a recess formed in one wall thereof and having a line of weakness formed @,Doi

in the bottom ofthe recess which line of weakness deiines a tear strip, and a closure plug se.-

cured to said tear strip and having a shape to fit the recess.

2. A container having a recess formed in an end wall thereof, the bottom of the recess being scored to form a line of weakness which partially encloses a portion of the wall of the container constituting a tear strip, a closure plug iitting said recess and permanently secured to said tear strip, said closure plug being provided with a lip raised slightly from the end'of the container under which an implement may be inserted to apply force to the plug for tearing the tear strip from the container end along said line of weakness.

3. A sheet metal can having a line of weakness in one wall thereof defining a tear strip, which, when separated from the wall along said line of Weakness, forms a pouring opening in said wall, and a closure member for the pouring opening permanently secured to the tear strip, said tear strip forming a, hinge connection for said closure after the can has been opened.

4. A hermetically sealed sheet metal can having in one Wall thereof a tear strip, the edges of which are united to said wall by a hermeticallysealed but readily disruptable connection, whereby when pulling strain is applied to the tear strip it will be torn loose from the wall thereby forming a pouring opening in said wall, and a closure member for said pouring opening per- :manently secured to said tear strip, said can having a closure-receiving portion in which the closure frictionally ts when it is closing the pouring opening.

5. A hermetically sealed sheet metal can having a tear strip in one wall thereof, the edge portions of which are connected to said Wall with an easily tearable but hermetically sealed connection, whereby when pulling strain is applied to the tear strip it will be torn partially loose from said wall, thereby forming a pouring opening, and a closure member for said pouring openi ing permanently secured to said tear strip.

6. .A hermetically sealed sheet metal can having a tear strip in one wall thereof, the edge portions of which are connected to said wall with an easily tearable but hermetically sealed connection, whereby when pulling strain is applied to the tear strip it will be torn partially loose from said wall, thereby forming a pouring opening, and a closure member for said pouring opening permanently secured to said tear strip,

the latter serving as a. hinge connection between 5 Y the closure member and the can.

7. A can having a recess formed in an end wall thereof, the top of the recess being countersunk and a portion of the bottom of the recess constituting a tear strip which is connected to 10 f the circumjacent part of the recess bottom by a readily tearable connection, a closure plug permanently secured to the end of the tear strip portion and frictionally fitting said recess and having at its periphery a bead which frictionally nts the countersunk portion of the recess.

8. A can having a recess formed in an end wall thereof, the top of the recess being countersunk and a portion of the bottom of the recess constituting a tear strip which is connected to the circumjacent part of the recess bottom by a readily tearable connection, a closure plug frictionally fitting said recess and having at its periphery a bead fitting the countersunk portion of the recess, the bottom of said closure plug being permanently secured to the end of the tear strip portion and the portion of said closure bottom opposite its point of attachment with the tear strip inclining upwardly to the bead.

9. .A container having a line of weakness in one wall thereof defining a tear strip, which, when separated from the wall along said line of weakness, forms a pouring opening in said wall but remains permanently connectedl to said wall, and a closure member for the pouring opening permanently secured to the tear strip, said tear A strip providing means for permanently connecting the closure to the container after the latter has been opened.

10. A hermetically sealed sheet metal container having a tear strip in one wall thereof, the edge portions of which are connected to said wall with an easily tearable but hermetically sealed connection, and a closure member permanently secured to said tear strip whereby when pulling strain is applied to the closure the tear strip will be torn loose from said wall, thereby forming a pouring opening, said closure being usable to reclose said opening.

HARRY SEBELL. 5() 

